Is the free enterprise system in the West able to create more jobs? Is unemployment the most important problem?

Why do politicians disingenuously imply that individuals, e.g., Obama or Bush, are to blame for high unemployment? Technology (e.g., the kindle) has made many jobs obsolete. A lot of other work is outsourced to countries with cheaper labor. It is not obvious that people will continuing to buy the latest discretionary items, such as the newest i-phone or HDTV, at the same rate in the future. High Tech, like other industries, is cyclical. Can we assure that almost everyone will eventually find a job? Are jobs really the most important issue today? This opinion piece asserts there are sufficient resources for all Americans to have their needs met. http://articles.cnn.com/2011-09-07/opinion/rushkoff.jobs.obsolete_1_toll-collectors-robots-jobs?_s=PM:OPINION
Of course, most Americans dislike socialism and want to work for their money. And they do not want the government to create jobs, despite the deterioration of infrastructure, such as bridges. But don't we live in a new economic world in which we need new solutions?

The president can only do so much to work on the economy, much of that work is just psychological. government can only do so much, and making bigger government never seems to work. The arket neds to recover, and when it does, jobs will coe with it. You can only engineer so much. We really need to keep our currency stable, and I'm becoming more and more convinced that the fedral reserve, wich continues to print money out of thin air, is something that needs to be done away with.

One barrel of oil = 23000 man hours of energy, about 11 years worth. The average American uses 16 barrels worth of energy in a year. Something has got to give. Our current economic system can't sustain at a level. It requires growth and those days are gone or will be soon. One way or another things are going to change. We are going to have to be smarter about many things and even if we all pitch in, it is going be a bumpy ride. Products will have to designed to last. No more planned obsolescence. No more buying something new just to be doing it. The corporate agriculture paradigm under utilizes the land, damages it, and requires energy expensive fertilizers and pesticides. Manual labor is less efficient, but It does provide jobs and uses less precious energy, however. Anyone who has access to even a small plot of land will be growing food and learning how to recycle everything to make cheap fertilizer in the future. Local, even personal, power generation will be the norm. We are going to be the new(old time) pioneers. Jet travel will be rarer than it was in the 50s. I agree wholeheartedly with the author of 'Eaarth' who said that the one personal technology we MUST keep is the internet.

Technology putting people out of work is nothing new.

Government doesn't "create" jobs. Infrastructure work is ongoing, federal, city, and state governments contract for repairs all the time.

Jobs are important because they help pay the bills, and generate tax revenue. Tax revenue goes to pay to fix those bridges. Without private industry there are no jobs, no jobs no taxes, no taxes no government of any kind (Fire department, public works, sanitation,police, etc). It's not the end of the world, Costs Rica has a very limited government, but you are on your own all the way. If your house catches fire, or your kid gets sick there's nobody to call.

What's Next?

Our auto-computer robots will email you a temporary password. Then you can Login with that password to continue and choose a new password. If you’re still having trouble, check our help section and see if you can find your answer.